OneMoSalah

I don’t think there’s much of a difference and that is without mentioning Mahrez plays a free role for Leicester a lot recently? You put Mahrez in our team he wouldn’t be half as effective as he is for Leicester. That’s why I don’t think he would be an improvement on Willian, who at times is poor yes but also can do something (think he’s better coming into games than starting). Also replacing an average player with another average player (although younger) is pointless. These guys need to be improved upon not replaced with the same/lesser level, I can’t be only person who sees that?!? Pedro is at an age where he is useful and more likely to accept a bench roll so why bother spending 42m on someone younger who is just as average, probably will play just as often, when the club can seriously go out buy somebody better if they look around as opposed to stumping for some overrated PL mid table player? Think the fact no top 4 PL club were only club seriously interested in Mahrez in the summer shows that he’s not exactly the player many think he is. Malcolm, Fekir, Pulisic, personally I think none of these are unattainable and probably available at a similar fee or a wee bit more, if not in January, then the summer. Maybe he’s on a good run but in the long run, he’s not exactly going to improve or squad by much if by any. I know wingers aren’t exactly at a premium but it’s not like he’s a bargain at 42m. He's four years younger than Pedro & an improvement over Willian in terms of end product. Not a signing that would set the world alight but can't see us doing much better in that department anytime soon. His age doesn’t really matter to me. He’s not really going to be an improvement on them and quite frankly would rather we played 352 than 343 with Mahrez in because he’s not an improvement on what we have in those wide forward areas plus it would be another severe overpayment if we got him for 42m, like Bakayoko for 40m, Batshuayi for 33m and Drinkwater for 35m. Overpaying for players that aren’t worth half although Drinkwater in cameos has looked closer to being a 40m player than Bakayoko.. the market is hugely inflated yes but PL is ridiculous. It’s not impossible to get good value, we just signed Barkley for 15m (HG, youngish, can improve, will make club money if success or not).. got Marcus Alonso for 24m (considering the skepticism when he came it’s looking like a good fee), Rudiger for 34m (Looks a steal in comparison to Van Dijk or Stones fees). Ironically every time we go to buy from the PL the price is inflated to fuck.

Typical Mourinho he would bring something up that Conte was cleared of 😂 Hopefully Conte doesn’t get involved anymore he doesn’t need to waste his energy on him, he’s jealous of Conte’s success last season and also the praise he gets.

42m for a player that isn’t an improvement on Willian or Pedro. No thanks

Not sure where he’d play in a back 3 (maybe rightside or middle) but he is an excellent defender in terms of winning tackles and heading although sometimes he can have concentration issues. Think he lost his place in the Atletico 11 last year with Savic performing well but Atlético weren’t worried one bit about letting Miranda leave a few years back because Gimenez had shown at a young age for a central defender he was a great player. He’s still only 22 and can play RB as well.

Luiz can’t play CDM. He starts being too erratic, gets overly excited and for all his energy and running about he is out of position more often than not. Just look at the game vs Roma where he was played there other than the goal and some passes he was all over the joint. Benitez and Mourinho both struggled to get him to be disciplined in that position. Him playing there is a big no no unless we have absolutely nobody else to play there. Even as a CB he takes risks, I think 3 at the back gave him a good bit more responsibility in the middle because he is the last line so to speak but he also averaged less touches on the ball and less defensive actions than the wide CBs a lot of the time which is why I think as well Cahill looked very solid in the middle of the back 3 in the previous few games he played too. I’m still not overly convinced Luiz is as solid as Azpilicueta, Rudiger or Christensen for instance because you always feel watching him he’s got the devil on one shoulder telling him to do something stupid, although he’s nowhere near the train wreck he was under Villas-Boas. I genuinely think his passing is overrated as well, I mean I get building from the back yes but people make out that Luiz is like the best CB in the world for this, the likes of Christensen, Stones, Pique, Ramos etc do this very well but they keep it simple and for me simplicity is better than those Hollywood passes that come off 1/10. Bonucci is by far the best example because he can make passes like the one for the Italy goal against Belgium at the Euros but he doesn’t actually make them every week or choose the difficult option as his first choice. Only if it’s highly likely to come off. We have enough problems with our CMs giving the ball away without encouraging a CB to try his best impression of Xavi Alonso. I get taking risks but Luiz is prone to just try force it and the nearest player would be miles a way.

Tbf he is a calculated gamble for me, he will be a good player, hardly outstanding but after seeing Lukaku and Stones performances for Everton and now for their respective clubs it is not a bad move seeing as he was just as important to Everton as they were when fit. Like I said, hardly outstanding but 15M for a English player? Hardly a major loss if he doesn’t do well plus 5 and a half year contract the clubs guaranteed to make more than what theyve paid.

Don’t believe this at all on second thoughts, more chance of the club buying a large broom to play upfront.

Who knows what’s will happen in the summer, although Ross Barkley signing doesn’t help his case necessarily.

Honestly if Man United were to appoint another manager in the same/similar mould as Mourinho I think there fans would be incredibly pissed off 😂 I don’t think Simeone is going to manage here any time soon regardless of club and personally don’t fancy Max Allegri either, don’t think Juventus have gone up another level since Conte departed despite more financial backing in recent years (2 CL finals is an improvement in Europe but is there side actually that much better?). Sarri is a wild card option, Napoli are an absolutely brilliant footballing team but again do you think he’d get the backing and support? Or the time if things don’t go well? In all honestly I’d rather keep Conte for another year, see if he can get a bit more quality in and get closer to City who will be the title favourites again next season.

God no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no

Always thought he was really overrated although he does have potential and for £15m if he can add a consistency and end product to his game then he will be a very decent signing in the long run. Hopefully he can stay fit, that is just as much an issue for me as his end product and inconsistency.

You’ve not realised yet that even if he was to score a hat trick every week people would still complain!! Doing good for a guy who’s played every match for us more or less since making his debut v Arsenal last season. Must be knackered. Think some healthy competition would be good for him too.

Ambitious but if we a LWB and a goal scoring MF player we are laughing. Striker needed too though.

Don’t think he means unlimited amounts of money. Just the players he wants. There’s no doubt that City have won the league already regardless of a miracle but their recruitment started last season with recruitment of the likes of Gundogan, Stones, Jesus, Bravo, Sane and also this summer with the likes of Walker, Mendy, Ederson and Bernardo Silva. They weren’t second or third choice buys they were first options of the managers. Even before Pep came in, they signed the likes of De Bruyne, Sterling, Fernandinho and Otamendi too. I’m sure Conte is talking more about his Juventus days but wouldn’t be surprised if that’s was a little bit about last summer too with Luiz and Alonso although he made it work and possibly this summer(who knows?). If the club had signed an amount of players of this quality he wouldn’t complain because he would have a more competitive squad than he does now.

Well depends on how often Conte wants to use a false 9 unless by some miracle he gets someone in who is a bit better than Batshuayi. I doubt hes overly keen with the false 9 as hes repeatedly mentioned a striker being the focal point for the team since coming here. Batshuayi won't cut it for me, think hes not got a bit more to his game, sure he can finish but when your playing with Hazard, Willian and Pedro you need to be able to do a bit more than that as they like to come in interchange, run off you into scoring positions. I doubt Kane would ever come here either, which is a shame but also as many goals as he scores I think he shoots far too often at times, fair enough its better than not enough but still I think if he ever makes the move to a Real or Barca like many suspect to happen he wont have that same sort of authority where he could just ping it from 35 yards. Also if people aren't happy with Morata they won't be with Icardi, hes a good player too but don't think theres much a difference between the two.

Theres a reason why he didn't make it as an attacker anywhere after Wigan. No end product.

When is enough, though? What of Morata being here as first choice? If he has a full season or that where he scores a hugely underwhelming amount of goals like 5 or 6 then I think we would need to re-evaluate but no chance in hell that will be happening. Or if we get a chance to sign a genuinely world class striker that would have to start but honestly how many of them are about and likely to come here. There are bigger problems than Morata. Wing backs could be better, although Alonso is coming up with some big goals and also squad depth could be improved. Lack of players who will get double figures in goals in the league as well, not only a problem this season has been for 4-5 years, the days of Malouda, Anelka, Drogba, Lampard, Kalou all scoring 10+ each at least is well gone.

Its not really though, regarding Eden, hes playing as a second striker more often than not so why can't he not be judged on goals more than anything else as well? Eden puts in same sort of performances playing in front 3 or off the striker, really consistent high level, you get take ons, chances created, key passes, tricks and flicks yes and its obvious hes a level above most of our players and a lot in the PL but yes we have to start being objective and looking at all the attacking players outputs in their goals and assists too when they've not actually contributed anywhere near as much to the point our left wing back is our second top scorer in the league. That is the bigger problem for me. People want to criticise our top scorer who has done relatively well and not look at the others who haven't contributed as much. Eden is a firm fan favourite and I want him to elevate his game to that next level but now hes playing as a second striker and getting more chances in front of goal and can score more than he does. Doesnt have to be Messi or Ronaldo levels but he can get 20 goals a season, he is that good. Even the likes of Bakayoko or Cesc always seems to arrive in the box and dont put it away anywhere near as often as they should Willian Pedro Batshuayi same instances. I don't get this main finisher point, everybody can score goals, the more the better, thats the point. Costa was never world class for me, he was slightly frustrating but there were times where you just knew he was putting the ball in the net be it at 10 mph or 100mph, you just knew more often than not if he got a good chance he'd score it. I think Morata will still mature and get that instinct, he signed a 5 year contract hes only 25, he will continue to grow etc and hopefully develop that killer instinct (hopefully Eden can as well). His price tag is irrelevant because the transfer market is crazy, 50-70m whatever it was he cost is the new 30-35m. It was a critical game where if we defended better or pressed more in MF we would have maybe won too, no? There were lots of reasons we drew tonight, finishing was one of them, goalkeeping was another. Yes hes a striker yes he should score. His confidence is well shot you could tell in his body language after the first one. I thought he was just trying to be too clever trying to place it that well considering Cech was going other side but maybe he was just too nervous? Kane is proven yeah but Morata has shown in Europe and on international stage he is also a good player, the goals will come back again, his finishing can improve and I can see Conte helping him out too, players suffer loss of form, confidence etc. Wouldn't get too concerned after a wee period where hes been playing flat out every 3 days as well bar a few games. The team could do with more goals though, you seen Conte didn't throw Batshuayi on, which shows how much he rates or trusts him and that was after he seen him miss three sitters so what do you think his major concern will be, lack of goals from Morata or lack of quality to change it up? Still think the Torres thing is a bit OTT but lol. Maybe. I dont know, they talked about him having 100m euros clause for foreign clubs outside of Italy. I think Morata will probably bounce back, hes bound to have 0 confidence after that game and I'm sure Conte will have said you should have scored. He probably knows himself he should have scored them. I do think we need better options to bring off the bench than Batshuayi though for the odd chances of off nights from players.

That's how I'm looking at him now because hes playing as a second striker. Hes always going to beat men, make something happen but playing in this more central position he needs to do a bit more in terms of his performances in front of goal. I think regardless of where he plays he will beat men, link well with Alvaro and create chances so if hes not scoring more goals why play him more centrally? I thought it would be to get him closer to the striker and the goal. I had a post in Morata topic, Marcos Alonso has more league goals than him and hes playing as a wing back. Not sure how I feel about this because hes obviously more key to us than Alonso is and theres no doubt hes on another level to some of his team mates but there is always room for improvement and for Eden its becoming clinical and getting more goals.

Costa was a huge loss, despite various complaints about his lack of link up play etc, he was a ruthless finisher on his day and a real presence. Although he was the same when he scored goals nobody said anything and when he didn't he was overly criticised, like Morata is getting now. People seem to forget already that 6 months into his Chelsea career he is really carrying the burden of providing the goals for us on a regular basis, sure strikers are meant to score goals but I'm more concerned about the lack of goals from Batshuayi, Willian, Pedro, Cesc, even Hazard to a certain extent in some games or coming off the bench because I think it was obvious that somebody who in their first season in the PL would maybe struggle around Winter time to maintain his form after he had quite an impressive start to his Chelsea career and no winter break like he was used to in Spain and Italy. I mean everyone taken away by City but look at the goals that De Bruyne, Silva, Sterling, Sane, Jesus and Aguero have all gotten in comparison to our attacking and midfield options. Liverpool as well with Salah, Firmino, Coutinho, Mane... its that bad that Marcos Alonso has gotten more goals for us than Hazard, Batshuayi, Willian and Pedro have all managed themselves in the PL. To win titles, you need a supporting cast for your striker that if there not firing will chip in, we used to have Lampard, Malouda, Anelka, Drogba, Kalou all scoring 10+ a season for years. Morata missing 3 sitters in one game is not as big a problem as the lack of goals from other players. Talking about Costa I'd of loved to see him and Morata playing together, thought it would be an excellent combination of sorts, physical presence in Costa and the more technical sort of player in Morata next to him. Morata can work on his finishing yes and I think he will, his confidence is likely to be shot but I think Conte will pick him up. I'd hate to see where we would be if Morata hadn't done so well and gotten as many goals as he has because we'd be nowhere near the position we are. I doubt we'll see anybody miss 3 sitters like those again for us. It really was poor finishing but it won't happen again. If he isn't much better than Lukaku then I don't know... because he offers 10 times more for me, Lukaku is a flat track bully but has a poor record against top 6 teams. Kane, Aguero, Salah (hes not even a striker no idea why youve brought him into this)... fair enough but Kane didn't score for a whole month at the start of the season but did you see Tottenham fans saying Llorente was better or Morata was better or Lukaku was better or what not? Not a chance in hell. Salah is on fire but Liverpool still won't have better chances of competing for the title, Aguero like Kane, top class player but when he goes on a run of a few games do you think City fans start complaining about his finishing? No way. Yes we can criticise Morata's finishing because it was poor tonight but there will be many folk come the end of the season who will look back and think my god did I really say that about Morata and regret it. The new Torres or worse than Batshuayi crowd particularly. Belotti at a cut price? 4 goals so far this season. For Torino. Last year was impressive for him but he has been nowhere near the standard this time round. Release clause of 100M euros as well. No thank you. Well if people are here because they love the club and the players who represent that club then they could do with reviewing some of the posts, not even just on here but on twitter/facebook and whatever else I've seen shit that makes me embarrassed to be a fan alongside these people, 'new Torres'? Really? I'd really like to see what would happen if Hazard missed 3 guilt edge chances like that. Would really be interesting.

To be fair we all seen his finishing wasn't particularly amazing back when he was scoring regularly. But yet again he is being overly criticised by various fans, some of them who were probably the idiots who waited half a year for Torres to score his first goal against West Ham for us, there is no doubt hes on a bad run, I still think hes the best striker we could of bought in terms of current ability and room for growth. Hes got everything you'd want from a striker, sure he bottled 3 chances and has missed a few others but the one thing hes doing for me is: continuously getting chances to score which Batshuayi hasn't done to the sort of level Morata has. Even last year Costa was criticised by various fans despite scoring 20 goals? Its the same shit every year there is always some sort of complaint, I mean other than tonight (if we won nobody would give a fuck in all honestly anyway) he has missed a few sitters yes but he has got a healthy goal total for the season unlike our other attacking players, which doesn't help because already 6 months into his Chelsea career he and Eden are basically shouldering the responsibility for the whole team in terms of goals and even then they could do better at times yes. Hes hardly awful with his feet just look at his hattrick with Stoke he scored a really top class goal.

Doesn't apply to everyone but does to some Chelsea fans: Morata before December: Good player. Glad we never paid 75M for Lukaku. Morata after December: New Torres/worse than Batshuayi, needs to be upgraded on. Make your minds up eh?

Tbf we didnt lose the game. We probably could have lost. If that was Jose we'd have lost because once we conceded under him playing poorly we rarely ever got a look in. Bad conceding the second but it was coming, I'm generally surprised it didnt come earlier, before we even got our second. I think 352 was good formation to start with but Xhaka, Wilshere and Ozil dominated in there. I think changing to 343 could have been done but even then we had enough chances. Over the festive period we are unbeaten, conceding only 2 goals, dropping 4 points (tonight and at Everton), not all doom and gloom. This month will be huge now because we will sign some players after Conte's said that if players aren't happy with not playing they will be allowed to leave as long as they are replaced. Batshuayi, Musonda, Kenedy... reckon all will be gone come the end of the month (probably all on loan) and replaced with better quality.

That's true but there was games when Torres was generally a disaster, like the net would be half empty and all he'd have to do is touch it and it would end up smashing his shin and flying over the bar or something. I doubt we'll ever have to experience shit like that again although tonight was pretty bad for Alvaro. Really if he'd scored at least one it wouldnt have been that bad, think last one was most difficult cause it has to come down, its obvious hes not confident after the other two but even then he just needed to lift it over Cech. Costa would have got 2 out of 3 at least.

He really is starting to wear my patience thin as well. Matic had a shocker for United the other week but I'd take him back without a doubt in his place. It seems a long time since Baka put in a good performance. The United game probably wasnt that long ago but that was last time he impressed me.